As we peel back the layers of vinyl wallpaper, false ceilings and commercial carpeting, we've been finding unexpected beauty and textures in the Shirehall building which is soon to be the new home of Make Holt.
It started off with a feeling that somewhere under the plaster and 20th century decor there were ancient materials just waiting to be uncovered. A preliminary peek behind the plaster revealed stunning brick and flint work, timber beams and supports, all creating a patchwork of imperfect perfection, aged and distressed richness.
We carefully removed the black gloss paint from the central post in the shop area to reveal a smoky wood, rich in history and bearing the 'witches' mark' supposedly to keep evil away from the door...
Although I have collected ideas and made moodboards of how we envisage the shop looking, we are often led by daily discoveries as the team works carefully to reveal what lies beneath.
Wallpaper has been partially removed to leave a memory of what went before, creating a pastel collage of pattern and hues, a perfect backdrop for our product photography. I feel quite often that these master tradesmen who are used to a perfect finish think I am a little crazy, leaving a patch of artex here, a half revealed flint wall there...
